The present invention relates generally to fasteners, and pertains more specifically to a fixing device for fastening objects on a hollow board.
Hollow boards are often used for the construction of green houses. They are typically formed from transparent plastic materials, such as for example polypropylene, polycarbonate, etc., and usually comprise a pair of transversely spaced upper and lower external boom panels, which are joined to one another through a plurality of internal webs or ribs. The ribs are equally spaced therein between so as to define a network of internal hollow cells.
The needs of greenhouse often require various objects to be attached to the hollow board thereof, such as for example, pipes, cables, wire, etc. Sometimes a need arises to connect two or more boards together or to support a butt connection between the boards. In some instances, a hollow board will need to be attached to a supporting structure. These needs are usually satisfied with fixing devices. A fixing device is normally imbedded into the outer panels or skin of the board and the object is fastened to the device.
A common problem involved with attaching fixing devices to hollow boards is that their outer panels are often damaged as the fixing device is being embedded therein. In some instances, the damage may be severe enough to cause an undesirable amount of leakage. Such damage usually occurs because the boards are generally fairly thin and the cell height between the pabels is usually fairly shallow.
Dowell-type fixing devices have been used in an attempt to overcome this problem. However, in some applications may dowel-type fixing devices are also unsuccessful in preventing an undesirable amount of damage because of the thinness of the panels and the shallow height of the cells.
Against the foregoing background, it is an object of the present invention to provide a fixing device for satisfactorily fastening objects on hollow boards without causing an undesireable amount of damage to the boards during insertion of the device or some time thereafter.
It is another object to provide a fixing device for fastening objects on a hollow board, which device comprises at least one support member for disposing within the board and a connecting member for fastening objects thereto, wherein the connecting member is arranged substantially perpendicular to the support member such that a bearing surface defined by the support member substantially receives a pull-out force acting on the connecting member due to the objects fastened thereto.
It is a further object to provide a fixing device for fastening objects on a hollow board which device comprises a plurality of support members arranged with a connecting member so as to allow substantially heavy loads to be suspended from the attached device.
It is still another object to provide a fixing device for fastening objects to hollow boards, which device comprises a connecting member having a through aperture adapted for attaching the various objects thereat.
It is yet another object to provide a fixing device for forming a butt joint of two hollow boards which are disposed adjacent one another such that the cells of the boards are arranged in parallel.
It is yet and still another object to provide a fixing device for forming a butt joint or two hollow boards which are disposed adjacent one another such that the cells of the boards are arranged in a longitudinally extending straight line.
It is yet and still another object to provide a fixing device for satisfactorily fastening a hollow board to a supporting structure such as an angular support and cross-ties.
It is yet and still a further object to provide a fixing device for fastening objects to a hollow board having a plurality of support member with spatular-shaped bearing surfaces and a connecting member with a plurality of raised contact surfaces, such that attachment of the device to the board wedges one of the board's two panels between the bearing surfaces and the contact surfaces so as to allow compressive forces derived from objects attached to the device to be substantially received by such bearing surfaces and to allow tensile forces derived from the attached objects to be substantially received by the contact surfaces.